'Dead' Infant Comes To Life Moments Before Burial, Dies Hours Later

An infant, who was wrongly declared dead by a hospital staff, woke up minutes before its burial, only to die a few hours later.

The incident happened in Dibrugarh district, a major tea-growing region in India's northeastern state of Assam.

The child's parents, who were tea garden workers, took him to a local hospital Sunday after he fell sick. The kid was declared dead by a hospital staff without proper verification as the doctor was not available.

"The sick child, a boy aged less than one year, was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead by the compounder [staff]. The doctor of the hospital was absent at that time," police officer Hrishikesh Hazarika told The Hindustan Times.

Once the boy was declared dead, the family members brought his body back home and started preparations for his funeral.

Moments before his burial, they noticed the boy moving and rushed him to another hospital, where he was pronounced dead, for the second time.

"But when the family was about to bury the child, it started moving. It was then rushed to Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), where it was declared brought dead on arrival," the officer added.

Meanwhile, other tea garden workers staged a protest demanding the arrest of the hospital staff, following which he was taken into custody.

"Maybe the child would have survived if the compounder hadn't declared him dead and the parents had enough time to take him to a bigger hospital. We have lodged an FIR and arrested the compounder Gautam Mitra as he is not authorized to pronounce anyone dead," the officer told the newspaper.

Investigation into the incident was ongoing.

In a similar incident less than a month ago, a teen, who was declared dead, woke up during his funeral preparations in India's northeastern state of Manipur. The 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was kicked in the abdomen by a horse.

He was declared dead a few hours after he was admitted. Family members brought him back home but he woke up just before his burial. He was rushed to another local hospital. The doctors, however, were unable to revive the teen due to his weak pulse.